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Shayla Love

Staff Writer, Psyche

Shayla Love is a staff writer at Psyche. Her science journalism has appeared in Vice, The New York Times and Wired, among others. She lives in Brooklyn, New York.

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Written by Shayla Love

Two people sit at a table with coffee cups, near a window overlooking a rainy scene with parked cars and trees in the background.

Worry and rumination

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Rehashing your problems with friends can turn into a bad habit

Although ‘co-rumination’ bolsters relationships in some ways, it also distracts from other, better coping methods

by Shayla Love

Traffic on a rainy motorway with a sign indicating a stranded vehicle and a 40 mph speed limit.

Decision-making

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Why small annoyances can harm us more than big disruptions

A largely forgotten psychological concept helps explain the insidiousness of minor problems – and what to do about it

by Shayla Love

A person walking a dog along a tree-lined path during sunset, with a warm orange glow illuminating the scene. The person wears a white and green top with a blue jacket tied around their waist. The dog is walking slightly ahead on a leash.

Emerging therapies

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Could dreams during anaesthesia help to heal life’s trauma?

Scientists are studying the dreamlike states produced by anaesthesia – and their potential benefits for people with PTSD

by Shayla Love

A young couple in handcuffs lean against a 1950s police car beneath a brooding prairie sky

Mind and brain

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What films and literature reveal about the voice in your head

Inner speech is mysterious and hard to study. But movie voiceovers and introspective novels offer fresh ways to understand it

by Shayla Love

A woman sits at a cafe at night with a beer and a cigarette

Addiction

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You can want things you don’t like and like things you don’t want

The distinct neurochemistry of wanting and liking is helping to make sense of addiction – and more everyday behaviours

by Shayla Love

A kitchen with various items including a red coffee dripper on top of a glass, a strainer, a globe, a small clock, a cat-shaped dish, olive oil, soy sauce, pasta in a glass jar, and a reflective black surface.

Habits and routines

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Is it better to live in ‘clock time’ or ‘event time’?

Do you stick to a set schedule, or have a looser relationship to the clock? It can affect more than how you plan your day

by Shayla Love

People walking on a city street bathed in sunlight, with American flags hanging on buildings in the background. Shadows are cast on the pavement, and tall buildings line the street, creating a dramatic, contrasting light and shadow effect.

Death and dying

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Why so many of us see our loved ones after they have died

These experiences – which are more of an illusion than a hallucination – can be a healthy part of the grieving process

by Shayla Love

Many commuters walk towards the camera with varying degrees of blurred faces

Mind and brain

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What is it like to remember all the faces you’ve ever seen?

They’ve been studied by researchers and recruited by police forces, but what’s it actually like to be a super-recogniser?

by Shayla Love

The African American singer and pianist Nina Simone is pictured alone, singing against a spotlight that resembles a moon in the darkness. She has her eyes closed.

Emerging therapies

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Could that tingle down the spine be a way to rediscover joy?

In new research, scientists have looked into the potential benefits of giving people with depression the aesthetic chills

by Shayla Love

Close-up of a closed metal door-chain on a wooden door

Worry and rumination

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Should you confront your worries or try to banish them?

Psychotherapists have long believed it’s a bad idea to suppress worrisome thoughts, but new research is prompting a rethink

by Shayla Love

A joyful woman in a white hat and blue dress laughs with others playing drums and people watching in the background at an outdoor event.

Dissociation and detachment

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The therapeutic potential, and addictive lure, of losing yourself

In ketamine therapy and other contexts, dissociation is seen as an unwanted side-effect. But what if there’s more to it?

by Shayla Love

A person with a black watch on his wrist is touching a realistic prosthetic hand resting on a white surface, with a dark shirt in the background.

Psychosis and schizophrenia

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Rubber hand illusions shed new light on our bodily sense of self

Testing the illusions on those who have entered altered states offers clues about the experience of being in control

by Shayla Love